Quote:
Originally Posted by miningcamper1
What we need is a Ross Rowland with a Warren Buffett checkbook.  |
I'll second that thought! It is too bad that Warren Buffet and Bill Gates aren't rail enthusiasts.
Here's the thing... Steam locomotives are worth preserving for future generations. They are a HUGE (as Bernie would say) part of our history. They were the first machines built by the hands of man that could move at will under their own power. They enabled and fueled the industrial revolution. They made long-distance travel viable and enabled the westward expansion of the USA. The Civil War was won and the union preserved because of the supply chain they enabled. If you think about it, virtually every bit of technology that enriches our lives today is traceable back to the the steam locomotive. In the early 1800s, man traveled by sail and horseback, much as they had for many centuries. The invention of the steam engine occurs and less than 100 years later, we were flying. Just over half a century later, men were landing on the moon. The world has never seen such rapid progress, and that march toward modern society began with the invention of the steam engine.
What a sad shame it would be if our kids and their kids didn't have a few of these things around to remind them of where all of our technology came from.